Q1. What is Graded Index and Step index fiber Explain?

In fiber optics, a graded-index or gradient-index fiber is an optical fiber whose

core has a refractive index that decreases with increasing radial distance
from the optical axis of the fiber.
Because parts of the core closer to the fiber axis have a higher refractive
index than the parts near the cladding, light rays follow sinusoidal paths
down the fiber. The most common refractive index profile for a graded-index
fiber is very nearly parabolic. The parabolic profile results in continual
refocusing of the rays in the core, and minimizes modal dispersion.
Multi-mode optical fiber can be built with either graded index or step index.
The advantage of the multi-mode graded index compared to the multi-mode
step index is the considerable decrease in modal dispersion. Modal dispersion
can be further decreased by selecting a smaller core size (less than 5-10m)
and forming a single mode step index fiber.[1]
This type of fiber is normalized by the International Telecommunications
Union ITU-T at recommendation G.651.1.

For an optical fiber, a step-index profile is a refractive index profile

characterized by a uniform refractive index within the core and a sharp
decrease in refractive index at the core-cladding interface so that the
cladding is of a lower refractive index. The step-index profile corresponds to a
power-law index profile with the profile parameter approaching infinity. The
step-index profile is used in most single-mode fibers[1] and some multimode
fibers.[2]

A step-index fiber is characterized by the core and cladding refractive indices

n1 and n2 and the core and cladding radii a and b. Examples of standard core
and cladding diameters 2a/2b are 8/125, 50/125, 62.5/125, 85/125, or
100/140 (units of m). The fractional refractive-index change
\triangle \, = \frac{n_1 - n_2}{n_1} \ll \ 1. The value of n1 is typically
between 1.44 and 1.46, and \triangle is typically between 0.001 and 0.02.

Step-index optical fiber is generally made by doping high-purity fused silica

glass (SiO2) with different concentrations of materials like titanium,
germanium, or boron.